Pumpkin Walnut Muffins

Now that the weather has cooled down, I'm so happy I can resume my normal Sunday afternoon baking. While I've always loved to cook, baking is definitely my strong suit; I think it has something to do with the very precise measurements. If you've ever tried to fudge a recipe without knowing the proper substitutes, you will know exactly what I mean.

This Sunday, I was looking through my freezer that I've been trying to clean out slowly and found some frozen pumpkin puree. Whoopee! Fall is my favorite season not only because of the crisp cool weather, sweaters, and scarves, but also because of pumpkin everything!!! Pumpkin everything also usually means stopping by the Starbucks several times a week to indulge my sweet tooth. As you can imagine, this is not very budget friendly, so I decided to take to Google and find a recipe for muffins that I could take with me to work for that afternoon fix.

Pumpkin Walnut Muffins
Serves 12

This recipe was adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup all- purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray your muffin tin with non -stick spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, the whisk together. In a medium bowl, which the eggs and sugar until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin and oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix together. Gently fold in the walnuts.
3. Pour the batter evenly into each muffin cup filling each one almost to the top. Bake for 25 minutes. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
4. Place the muffins on a cooling rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

These muffins were definitely a hit in my house; there were only six left by the time I got around to snapping a picture. If using chocolate chips like the original recipe calls for, I would probably cut down the sugar because the muffins were pretty sweet as is. If I decide to make this recipe into a bread, I will definitely cut down the sugar to 1/2 cup of each. I'm also thinking of incorporating some zucchini next time I make them. 

Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think once you've given them a try.